Research Assistant/Associate Professor

AI for the University of Florida Genetics Institute: The University of Florida (UF) is embarking on a campus-wide strategic initiative to hire faculty members with expertise in Artificial Intelligence (AI). As part of this initiative, the Genetics Institute (UFGI), in partnership with the UF College of Pharmacy, is seeking qualified applicants for a non-tenure track faculty position focusing on applying chemical genomic/medicinal chemistry methodologies to nuclear hormone receptors and other target classes (via interaction with the Center for Natural Products, Drug Discovery and Development) using AI/structure-based drug design. This position will also involve teaching in the College of Pharmacy PharmD/PhD curriculum (<25% effort) and will be filled at the Assistant or Associate faculty level in the UFGI.

About the UF Genetics Institute and the University of Florida

The UFGI aims to promote excellence in genetics and genomics at the University of Florida by:

• Building community, facilitating collaboration, and creating opportunities for intellectual exchanges among investigators working in diverse taxonomic systems but with a common set of approaches in genetics and genomics.
• Supporting recruitment and retention of outstanding faculty in the areas of genetics and genomics.
• Supporting graduate education in genetics and genomics.
• Enhancing the ability of researchers at UF to compete for multidisciplinary research grants in genetics and genomics.

The Genetics Institute welcomed 5 new faculty members from 3 different colleges at UF in 2021. The 195-member faculty of the UFGI now represent seven colleges and 51 academic departments as well as the libraries and the Florida Museum of Natural History. During 2020/2021, UFGI investigators secured $92.2 million in sponsored research support, filed 69 US patents, and published 807 scholarly articles. Their work appeared in prestigious journals such as Nature, Science, New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Nature Medicine, Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology, Nature Biotechnology, Nature Reviews Genetics, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Responsibilities

• Apply chemical genomic/medicinal chemistry methodologies to nuclear hormone receptors and other target classes using AI/structure-based drug design.
• Collaborate with the Center for Natural Products, Drug Discovery and Development.
• Teach in the College of Pharmacy PharmD/PhD curriculum (<25% effort).

Requirements

• Ph.D. in a relevant field.
• Significant experience in synthetic medicinal chemistry.
• Experience developing ligands targeting nuclear receptors.
• Proficiency applying machine learning and AI algorithms to drug discovery.

Preferred Qualifications

• Pharmaceutical industry experience.
• Experience teaching medicinal chemistry.

Pay

Expected salary range for this position is $70,000–$130,000 and is negotiable commensurate with experience.